When you work in marketing day in and day out, it’s easy to get caught using the same handful of strategies over and over.
Social media, content marketing, emails and blog posts – you know the usual suspects. Sure, these work, but they can also become stale when customers see the same approach again and again.
If we are to truly delight the consumer, a little out-of-the-box thinking from time to time is always a good thing.
In this post, we’ll outline 5 marketing strategies that aren’t getting the attention they deserve.
1. The Infographic
65% of brands use infographics in content marketing. If you are part of the other 35%, keep reading.
Consumers today are short on time.
They would much prefer to read a quick infographic than a 2500-word blog about the same topic. The infographic is too powerful to be left on the table by more than a third of brands as you can see in the following statistics:
Infographics can help boost the traffic to your site by up to 12%.
Articles with infographics receive 178% more backlinks than standard articles.
Infographics receive 3x more shares than any other type of content on social media.
2. Partner with A Micro-Influencer
This method of marketing leverages endorsements and product mentions from influencers who have a dedicated social following. Influencer marketing is effective because followers trust the influencers and this provides much needed social proof for a brand’s value.
There are different types of influencers.
These are the most followed influencers. An influencer in this group gets paid the big bucks – sometimes upward of $250K or even $500K per post.
Microinfluencers – These influencers have anywhere between 3K and 100K followers. Usually between 8K and 15K followers is the sweet spot. Working with a microinfluencer is effective because their audience is typically small enough for the person to really interact with their audience causing followers to be highly engaged. Because these influencers are up and coming and looking to increase their following, they are more likely to go above and beyond for your brand.
3. Leverage the Authority of Industry Thought Leaders
Who are the respected thought leaders with authority in your industry?
Consider reaching out to a few of those individuals and request time for a brief interview.
Industry thought leaders often have a following on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. Interviewing a thought leader will diversify your content and expand the reach of your brand.
When you incorporate even a few quotes from an industry thought leader, you can tag that person and reach out to the audience that follows him or her.
4. Online Community Forums and Branded Communities are Underutilized
Online forums are platforms where users can ask and answer questions about various topics. Branded communities are forums attached to a specific brand or product.
Bet you didn’t know that:
Participation in an online community can help organizations improve engagement by up to 21%
For branded communities:
66% saw improved customer retention
68% say the community has helped create new leads
55% attribute an increase in sales to the community
57% say that the community has led to an increase in SEO
72% saw an increase in website traffic
If you didn’t know, you’re not alone, which is why online forums are one of the most underutilized marketing strategies.
The above statistics demonstrate how powerful an online community can be for your brand.
With this strategy, you can introduce users to your company’s brand, answer questions, discuss new features or industry concerns, and establish brand loyalty, authority and trust.
5. Data Analytics
Your organization is undoubtedly collecting more data than you realize. However, too many marketers investigate page views and click-throughs and think that they are leveraging their data.
But that’s just not enough. Marketing professionals must begin seeking out critical data, uncover significant trends and leverage this information to make more insightful decisions.
During the decision-making process, organizations that rely on the right metrics are able to understand whether they are seeing adequate ROI from their marketing spend.
Drill down into your data to find the following types of information from previous campaigns:
Revenue
Cost per lead
Website traffic to qualified lead ratio
You can then determine where new investments can be made and identify any strategies that should be eliminated.
Final Thoughts
It can be easy to lean on tried and true strategies. However, a fresh approach can be particularly effective for recharging the connection with your audience.